IBCSR Research Review

IBCSR Research Review Issues

If you are a member, please log in to review past issues of IBCSR Research Review.

IBCSR members have access to the entire history of IBCSR Research Review issues as well as a searchable database of publications in the scientific study of religion. The database is a one-stop solution to finding what has been published in the biocultural study of religion and in spirituality and health research, with no extraneous results to sift through on your way to locating the information you seek. The IBCSR Research Review Database contains all entries from all issues of the IBCSR Research Review as well as articles from previous years back to the middle of the nineteenth century, and is expanding all the time. IBCSR members enjoy other benefits, too. Join IBCSR today using the link on this page and on the IBCSR home page.

"Getting the IBCSR Research Review is like having Christmas every month. As soon as I receive this little PDF gift package in my email in-box, I stop whatever I am working on and electronically tear it open — and immediately begin downloading or ordering articles relevant for my current research projects. Thank you IBCSR!"

F. LeRon Shults, University of Adger, Norway

Introduction

The IBCSR Research Review offers a survey of recently published scientific research related to religion, brain, and behavior. You can register to receive free email editions of the IBCSR Research Review using the registration box on this page or on the IBCSR home page. Online versions will be available below, several months after they are published.

IBCSR members have access to the entire history of IBCSR Research Review issues as well as a searchable database of publications in the scientific study of religion. The database is a one-stop solution to finding what has been published in the biocultural study of religion and in spirituality and health research, with no extraneous results to sift through on your way to locating the information you seek. The IBCSR Research Review Database contains all entries from all issues of the IBCSR Research Review as well as articles from previous years back to the middle of the nineteenth century, and is expanding all the time. IBCSR members enjoy other benefits, too. Join IBCSR today using the link on this page and on the IBCSR home page.

Praise for IBCSR Research Review

It is an exciting time for evolutionary studies of religion as innovative projects are undertaken and new findings emerge across many fields of study. Keeping abreast of the accumulating interdisciplinary research presents an increasingly formidable challenge. That challenge is made much more manageable by the IBCSR Research Review. The Research Review not only affords a comprehensive overview of relevant publications across disparate fields; it also provides concise, succinct synopses of these publications -- excellent tool for keeping up with a rapidly burgeoning literature. (Candace Alcorta, Research Scientist, Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut)

"I'm so grateful to hear from you and your organization. What a wonderful navigation system for the world of science/spirit integration." (Linda K. Larkey, Professor, Scottsdale Healthcare Chair of Biobehavioral Oncology, Research College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University)

"I wanted to tell you I really appreciate IBCSR Research Review. The reviews are very well done and I enjoy them. I plan to make a deeper analysis as I prepare some materials for a speech I have been invited to give. The reviews will be very helpful." (Katherine Verdolini Abbott, Professor, Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh)

"This is an incredible resource for professional health care chaplains who want to stay current with the latest scientific research on spirituality and health. I've recommended it to all my colleagues and students!" (David W. Fleenor, Manager and Clinical Pastoral Educator, Pastoral Care Services at NYU Langone Medical Center, a partner institution of HealthCare Chaplaincy)

"I am very happy to be a subscriber to the IBCSR Research Review. It offers me detailed referencing information, keeps me updated on current research, and saves me many hours of searching. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in research on religion." (Dimitris Xygalatas, Director, LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion; Department for the Study of Religion, Masaryk University; and Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University; Managing Editor, Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion)

"I have appreciated all the work that has gone into researching and publishing the IRR abstracts. After retirement, I kept pursuing my interest in the evolutionary origins of religion. I go to your newsletter first every month to keep up with what is being published." (James W. Dow, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Oakland University)

Access the Database

The IBCSR Research Review Database is hosted with Zotero. Zotero is a free, open-source citation management program created by George Mason University (with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation). It works like this: When you become a member of IBCSR, you'll receieve an email inviting you to join the Zotero group. Joining the group gives you instant access to many thousands of references, abstracts, and outgoing links. When your IBCSR membership expires, your access to the database also ends – until you renew! If you lose the original invitation to join the group, don't worry: just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a new invitation.

Then respond to the email invitation from IBCSR – and join the group for the IBCSR Research Review Database!

After you accept the invitation to join, you'll be able to view items from the highly intuitive database by clicking on the Group's name in your account window, and then on Group Library link. You can also create a version of the database on your local machine, which you can edit, download, use to create bibliographies, and so on. Zotero is simple to use, but if needed you can get basic information from the Support and Documentation option in the Zotero application.

Search the Database

The IBCSR Research Review Database went live in January, 2011. The same search algorithms, selection procedures, and abstract-writing principles used to produce IBCSR Research Review are also used to construct the IBCSR Research Review Database. This database is gradually expanding, moving from the present backwards in time to the earliest research in the scientific study of religion, which is around the late 1980s (see the history of publications at the bottom of this page). Each new issue of IBCSR Research Reviewalso increases database holdings moving month by month into the future. The resulting index is the best place to find everything ever published in the English language on the scientific study of religion.

The main way to find the information you need is to search the IBCSR Research Review Database. Here are the steps to follow.

First, open the Zotero add-in within the Firefox web browser (see the article on accessing the database if you need help with this).

Second, syncronization of your local database with the online version of the database should begin automatically. If you want to initiate syncronization manually, click the Sycronize button.

Third, now you are ready to search items. There are several approaches.

Method 1: type text into the search box in the Zotero add-in. This will search all fields and display the records that satisfy the search. This method will also allow you to search in the online database using the search box at the top of the Zotero group window.

Method 2: you can click the search button to open a window and initate a search operation. The search window displays results. You can also save a search. The saved search appears under the "My Library" collection. Unfortunately, this method only works for the My Library collection so, if you want to use this method, you have to move items into the My Library collection first.

Method 3: you can use the category system to filter results and to limit the applicability of search-box entries.

Method 4: on the Zotero site, you can type a subject phrase under "Tags" to limit the subject tags, and then click on one or more subject tags to display items described by those subject tags.

You can find out more about searching by consulting the Zotero documentation.